Sam Ramon, Calif., Reconsidering Waste Contract

The city council in San Ramon, Calif., voted unanimously to start a new competitive bidding process to select the city's next waste management provider.

San Ramon currently contracts with Waste Management of Alameda County. The current contract is set to expire at the end of September 2019. Waste Management had requested to pursue an exclusive renewal negotiation, but the council instead is opening the contract up to a competitive process.

"I think it serves our citizens the best," Councilman Scott Perkins said Tuesday night at San Ramon City Hall.

Krueger presented his staff report to the council, highlighting the pros and cons of each option.

"The primary advantage of an RFP process is that it is the clearest way for the city to be confident that it has obtained the best pricing possible," according to Krueger. "The primary advantage (of) a sole-source negotiation is that it reduces the risk of contracting with a vendor whose service quality and contract compliance turn out to be worse than the status quo."

Waste Management's customer satisfaction rating and contract compliance are "adequate and are not sub-par," according to the most recent Open San Ramon solid waste survey, and San Ramon's current customer rates for solid waste and recycling services are slightly below average for the region.